Hello to a brand new year ...

Welcome to 2014 and a new year of inspiration and creativity on ARTastic.

Along with a brand new inspiration piece for you, we also have some new team members. Please welcome Deb Kupfer, Kylie gW, Aubrie Wancata, Leanne Kroschel and Di Hasthorpe.

We will get to know each lady a little better through the course of the month.  

We also welcome back continuing team members, Elaine Schoof, Helene Bogren, Julie Short, Debi Clark, Lesley French, Maja Stokk, Tone-Lill Angelskar and myself.  Team member Shazza Bishop will rejoin the group mid year.

This year sees us doing things a little differently.  On the 8th of each month one team member will host a new segment called The ARTastic 3T's - Tips, Tricks and Techniques where hopefully we can both inspire and perhaps educate you with a few different tutorials and techniques to try.  

We also welcome back Alacraft as a valued sponsor for our blog.  Alacraft have a lovely online store filled with all manner of wonderful craft supplies. 

We also welcome Time to Create who comes on board with us for this year. I think it would be fair to say that Time to Create specialises in products for the mixed media artist although lots of other scrappy goodness can be found lurking around every corner.

We also have a third sponsorship spot which will be taken up with a new sponsor each month. January welcomes The Scrappers Garden with the most delightful flower range.  Who couldn't love beauties like these?

Linda has even generously offered a 10% discount to ARTastic followers this month (please add code ARTastic at checkout) so if you would like to own some of these little dainties for yourself there is no better time to purchase than now.

On the 22nd of each month we will host some wonderful guest designers who will share their layouts and special talents with all of us.

So without further delay let me present our first inspiration piece for 2014.  A glorious wall of art by Vexta.

Added criteria - the use of triangles or diamonds

And our delightful creative team take on this ...

DEB

I have done a Christmas layout as that is where my head is at the moment.  I have a textured background and any number of triangle and pyramid shapes. 

DEBI

Bright and colourful and inspired by all those triangles and diamonds.

ELAINE

I've done my background with texture paint, gesso and mist using a chicken wire template to create diamonds.

HELENE

I stamped "tilted" triangles that form arrows and diamond shapes on my background.

JULIE

Inspiration strikes when you least expect it sometimes. "Shine" has done just that - taking my art making in yet another direction.

MAJA

I've used softer versions of the grungy street colours of the
inspiration photo with a textured background of diamond shapes.

Please upload the DIRECT link to your actual entry with the link tool on the LEFT by 11.55pm on January 31st, 2014. We'd love to see your paper, digital, or off the page submissions.  Please no back-dated submissions.  You may combine with a sketch and/or colour/technique challenge.  

Please pop back on the 8th for the first run of The ARTastic 3T's - Tips, Tricks and Techniques.

and don't forget ... our December inspiration is still open for entries until the 6th of January so there is time yet to get those Christmas layouts done!